


Fracture

by griever11



Category: Arrow (TV 2012)
Genre: Angst, Friendship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-03
Updated: 2018-03-03
Packaged: 2019-03-26 07:09:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,153
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13852656
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/griever11/pseuds/griever11
Summary: Tag to 6x14 Collision Course. Felicity ties up one last loose end before severing all ties with her former best friend.





	Fracture

Diggle slows the car down, rolling to a stop as he parks on the side of the road. Felicity glances at him, reaches out to touch his shoulder in silent thanks. “I’ll be right out,” she murmurs.

 

“You sure you wanna do this, Felicity?” Diggle asks, not for the first time that evening. "You don't need more time to think about it?" 

 

She sighs. The churning feeling in the bottom of her gut fills her with terror but she blocks it out and steels her nerves. “Yes,” she says resolutely. Then inhales and unbuckles her seat belt, fingers curling around the door handle as she readies to get out of the car. “I can’t... Not with him, not like this. After what he did...”

 

Diggle gives her a tight smile in understanding. “Okay then. Go. I’ll be right here.”

 

Felicity steps out and hurries into the building. In and out, quick and easy, she tells herself. Like ripping off a bandaid. She needs to get home to Oliver anyway, so she has a legitimate excuse not to linger. 

 

When she gets to his door, she has to close her eyes and take a few deep breaths. Her heart feels heavy and she’s just so sad. Everything’s falling apart around her, and though Oliver’s there for her, supporting her as steady as a rock, she knows he’s going through his own personal hell, so she’s doing this on her own. For herself. She physically feels ill that it's come to this, that her dreams are shattering before her but... she can do this. She's been through worse. 

 

She raps on the door with confidence. Three times, loud and sure.

 

It flies open almost immediately and she has to take a small step back. She’s met with a stony glare as she expected and she swallows. “Curtis. Hi.”

 

“What are you doing here, Felicity? I told you, we’re done, no comm -”

 

She feels the annoyance bubble within her and his terse words only confirm that she’s doing the right thing. She holds out her hand to interrupt him. “Yeah. Yeah, I get it. No contact, whatever. It’s actually why I’m here. I’ll be a minute, and then I’ll be out of your life forever.”

 

Wow, she didn’t think saying that would hurt so much. It feels like someone's just punched her in the stomach and she almost changes her mind. Almost. 

 

Curtis doesn't seem to have had the same reaction to her words and once again she mourns the loss of the Curtis she once knew. She doesn't know this version of him. And she doesn't think she wants to. He cocks an eyebrow and folds his arms across his chest expectantly.

 

Felicity cuts straight to the point, not wanting to stick around the uncomfortable hostility any longer than she has to. “I’m... I’ve decided to resign as director of Helix Dynamics. It’s yours. The company. All of it.”

 

“Wait, _what_?” It’s clearly not what he thought she was there for. He looks appropriately taken aback, but Felicity only shrugs. She’s thought this through and she’s not changing her mind.

 

“The implant is your invention anyway, and I don’t care about the extra coding that I designed for it. I wanted to use the prototype to help people, but tonight... Well. I don’t want to be part of something that can be used to hurt people.” Felicity looks him directly in the eyes when she speaks. “To hurt _friends_.”

 

Curtis looks like a deer caught in the headlights, and his mouth is opening and closing like he can’t find the words to say to her. Good, she thinks. He’s speechless for once.

 

“I can’t help but think that if Diggle didn’t have the implant in his arm, that you’d have gone after me,” she continues. “That you’d have disabled my chip, taken away my ability to walk, knowing how hard that had been for me, all because of your twisted idea of justice. I can’t see myself working with someone who can even entertain the idea of doing that to me.”

 

She purses her lips and chuckles darkly. The hole in her heart widens and she really just wants to cry but she strengthens her resolve. “Kinda feels like I’m breaking up with you, huh? It’s not me, it’s you.”

 

“Felicity, wait.”

 

“No, Curtis,” she bites back. “You guys crossed a line tonight. And I get that you think what you’re doing is right, or whatever? But... I brought you in. You and Rene. Oliver and I brought you into the team and you were family to us. Dinah too. And I had hoped... “ she trails off as the anchor around her heart threatens to pull her under again. But she shakes her head and clenches her jaw.

 

“I guess what I’m trying to say is that maybe if I hadn’t convinced Oliver that he needed backup two years ago, maybe if we hadn’t brought you in, you’d still have Paul, and Rene... wouldn’t be so angry and Dinah... well. I don’t know about her. But it’s on me. So this is me doing my part to fix it. Letting everything go.”

 

Curtis merely blinks dumbly in front of her and her heart sinks even more. He doesn’t deny it, doesn’t deny that he also believes part of all of this is her fault, and god, that hurts. Everything just fucking hurts.

 

“I’ll talk to the investors tomorrow, explain that I’m taking the time off to support Oliver while he tries to fix this economic crisis and they don’t have to know anything. Pick a new director, work on the implant, do whatever you want. Helix Dynamics is yours now.”

 

And with that she shuts her eyes just for a second and just lets herself feel. Everything. Heartbreak, and pain and the hopelessness of the entire situation they were in.

 

When she opens her eyes again, she finds a little bit of satisfaction in the fact that Curtis looks completely aghast, shell shocked at the bombshell she’s just dropped on him.

 

She shoots him one final grim smile, straightens her coat and nods. “Well. Okay, then. That’s all I wanted to tell you. I’ll send you the paperwork tomorrow. Bye, Curtis.”

 

She turns around and starts walking, each step away from her former best friend tearing at the very fibre of her soul. Boy, she’s gonna need Oliver to really hug her when she gets home tonight. And a huge tub of ice cream. And maybe a hug from William too.

 

All the hugs.

 

“Felicity, what are you gonna do?”

 

She stops at the quiet plea, and she thinks maybe a part of the Curtis she used to know was still in there somewhere. The one who wasn’t angry and vengeful and so hypocritical. He almost sounds sad even.

 

She half turns towards him and pulls her bottom lip between her teeth.

 

“Survive. I’ll survive.”

 

**Author's Note:**

> Yeah. I don't even know.


End file.
